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The LAGEOS satellites have plaques that try to explain what they are without using any words or decimal numbers or similar 'current' concepts.

To me, this suggests we expect the satellites to last their full lifetime, as the technology to find them in space will surely exist in much shorter time-scales (a few thousand if not hundreds of years, when we might expect English to still be understood in some way).

But when they de-orbit I'd expect them to either burn up or be destroyed when when they impacted the earth's surface.

So: am I wrong assuming that we think they'll last their full lifetime, or am I wrong assuming that they'll be destroyed on impact?

Edit: the lifetime of these satellites is expected to be around 8m years, but for the purposes of this question lets assume that structure of the earth, atmosphere and solar system is pretty similar to now.

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    $\begingroup$ This answer says that the orbital lifetime of LAGEOS is projected to be 8 million years. Are you asking what will happen after 8 million years? $\endgroup$
    – called2voyage ♦
    May 19, 2016 at 15:42
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    $\begingroup$ @called2voyage yes - is that so crazy? See edit, let's ignore questions about whether the earth actually exists in its current form. $\endgroup$
    – stripybadger
    May 19, 2016 at 15:53
  • $\begingroup$ That's fine, I just wanted to be sure you were aware of that. $\endgroup$
    – called2voyage ♦
    May 19, 2016 at 15:53
  • $\begingroup$ @called2voyage I read the question as, when the LAGEOS satellites finally do deorbit, do we expect them to survive reentry and landing sufficiently intact that the markings on the plaques will remain discernable to a possible future civilization coming across the remains of the satellites. $\endgroup$
    – user
    May 19, 2016 at 15:53
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    $\begingroup$ @OrganicMarble That's what I was thinking as well: orbital retrieval, as opposed to crash site retrieval. $\endgroup$
    – called2voyage ♦
    May 19, 2016 at 16:52

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The satellite is made from aluminum and brass, so I expect it will be burned up in the atmosphere when it reenters. The only chance it has of being read is if someone goes and picks it up, or at least gets a really big telescope.

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  • $\begingroup$ The plaque is inside the probe. I'm interested in what kind of telescope you're using to read it. $\endgroup$
    – called2voyage ♦
    May 19, 2016 at 17:44
  • $\begingroup$ Well, micrometeors might destroy part of it, but leave the plaque intact? $\endgroup$
    – PearsonArtPhoto ♦
    May 19, 2016 at 18:00
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This video had been posted recently by NASA's Marshall Center, I'm posting this just as supplementary information.

A few screenshots:

enter image description here

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enter image description here

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